On Oct 6, 7:30 am, B A R R Y wrote:
On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:23:10 -0700, Andrew Sarangan

wrote:

The OP has a damn good question, so telling him to "go read the POH'
is very patronizing and reflects poorly on all pilots' attitudes
towards new students.

OK, so HIS "read the POH" response was a tad harsh, but the overall
message remains a good one.

Be careful about how you treat new
comers to aviation.

You can point someone toward a basic reference in a manner that's
neither condescending or demeaning. G

So perhaps a more pleasant tone would be better?

Yes. I can relate to many such instances where a more inviting
attitude from the pilot would have had a different outcome. Long time
ago, even before I was a student pilot, I found out that my college
house mate was a pilot. I had all kinds of questions I wanted to ask
him about flying. But he was behaving like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, and
gave me the impression that I might not be cool enough to become a
pilot. He was never willing to answer any questions except tell me
that "it takes a lot of training and experience". Sort of like
telling someone to "go read the books". I have had other similar
encounters. Actually, I don't think I met a single friendly and
inviting pilot until I became a pilot myself. It is pretty sad.
Despite all that I still managed to become a pilot and CFI. I am just
very sensitive about how pilots treat other people expressing interest
in aviation.